As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.
Basic Requirements:
United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
Experience. One year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey grade level MRT (Coder).
Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.
English Language Proficiency. MRTs must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d).
Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to MRT (Coder) positions in the GS-0675 series in VHA must have either (1), (2), or (3) below:
(1) Apprentice/Associate Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
(2) Mastery Level Certification through AHIMA or AAPC.
(3) Clinical Documentation Improvement Certification through AHIMA or ACDIS.
Grandfathering Provision. All persons employed in VHA as a MRT (Coder) on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series, and grade held, including positive education and certification that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
(1) Such employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the journey level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but will not be promoted beyond the journey level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
(2) Such employees in an occupation that requires a certification only at higher grade levels must meet the certification requirement before they can be promoted to the higher-grade levels.
(3) MRTs who are appointed on a temporary basis, prior to the effective date of the qualification standard, may not have their temporary appointment extended, or be reappointed on a temporary or permanent basis, until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
(4) MRTs initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education that meets all the basic requirements of this qualification standard, must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.
(5) Employees who are retained as a MRT under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry as a MRT.
Creditable Experience. Experience is only creditable if it is directly related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, the candidate's experience must have demonstrated the use of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) associated with current practice and must be paid or non-paid employment equivalent to a MRT (Inpatient and Outpatient Coder).
Quality of Experience. To be creditable, experience must be documented on the application or resume and verified in an employment reference or through other independent means.
Preferred experience: Lead MRTs (Coder) must be able to perform all duties of a MRT (Coder),review coding and assist MRTs (Coder) in ensuring timeliness and improving coding accuracy; provide coding guidance to various levels of staff to promote consistency in practice and compliance with coding rules and regulations; initiate, prepare, and maintain various reports, and analyze data; and may also coordinate, assign, and monitor workflow; provide input for performance evaluations and hiring; orient and instruct new coding personnel and/or students on coding, abstracting, and use of the electronic health record and encoder software; ensure audit findings and claim denials related to coding errors are resolved and/or daily coding rejects corrected for accurate billing and data collection; monitor trends and/or changes in regulatory and policy requirements affecting coding practices and identify educational needs; develop coding training materials and present a curriculum encompassing ongoing training initiatives; provide assistance with coding inquiries from providers, MRTs (Coder), billers, and other facility staff.
Grade Determinations: Lead Medical Records Technician (Coder), GS-9
Experience: One year of creditable experience equivalent to the journey grade level MRT (Coder).
Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs:
1. Ability to work with a team to provide technical guidance, plan, organize, and coordinate activities in order to effectively complete job duties of assignment, such as distributing workload, monitoring the status and progress of work, monitoring accuracy of work, etc.
2. Advanced knowledge of current coding classification systems for the subspecialty being assigned (outpatient, inpatient, outpatient and inpatient combined) and the ability to research and solve complex questions related to coding conventions and guidelines in an accurate and timely manner.
3. Ability to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing, in order to meet program objectives.
4. Knowledge of training methods and the ability to provide training to new coding staff.
5.. Ability to collect and analyze data and present results in various formats, which may include presenting reports to various organizational levels.
6. Leadership skills, including interpersonal relations and conflict resolution between employees, managers, and clinical staff.
Certification: Employees at this level must have a mastery level certification-This is considered a higher-level health information management or coding certification and is limited to certification obtained through AHIMA or AAPC. To be acceptable for qualifications, the specific certification must represent a comprehensive competency in the occupation. Stand-alone specialty certifications do not meet the definition of mastery level certification and are not acceptable for qualifications. Certification titles may change and certifications that meet the definition of mastery level certification may be added/removed by the above certifying bodies. However, current mastery level certifications include: Certified Coding Specialist (CCS), Certified Coding Specialist - Physician-based (CCS-P), Registered Health Information Technician (RHIT), Registered Health Information Administrator (RHIA), Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), Certified Inpatient Coder (CIC).
References: VA Handbook 5005/124 Part II Appendix G57 Medical Records Technician Qualification Standards
The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-09. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-09.
Physical Requirements: Light lifting (under 15 pounds); Moderate carrying (15-44 pounds); Use of fingers; Both hands required; Walking (1-4 hours); Standing (1-4 hours).